Upholstery seat covers used at the manufacturing level provide a seat manufacturer with a multitude of options for decoratively covering a seat. In addition, seat covers are commonly used by consumers as an inexpensive and easy way to hide damaged or unattractive seat upholstery and also provide added cushioning to the seat. For all uses, it is desirable to provide a seat cover that will securely remain in place on the seat and yet is easy to attach and remove from the seat.
It has long been known that a drawstring assembly in a seat cover can provide ease of attachment and removal for the seat cover. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,161,448 to Bishop illustrates a seat cover of this type. The Bishop '448 seat cover discloses a fabric panel with a drawstring sheath attached to the outer periphery thereof. A drawstring is slidably disposed within the sheath and, when cinched, pulls the fabric panel tightly against a seat. Thus, by merely tying the cinched drawstring, the seat cover can be retained against the seat.
However, with continued use, a drawstring-type seat cover as shown in Bishop '448 will slide and wrinkle unattractively with respect to the seat because it is not attached directly to the seat. On the other hand, seat cover designs that securely retain the seat cover in place can be very labor intensive and difficult to install. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,644,510 to Benmax illustrates a seat cover of this type. The seat cover includes a fabric panel designed to cover a seat bottom. A plurality of holes are disposed along the outer periphery of the fabric panel, and an identical number of hooks are located along an outer edge of the underside of the seat bottom. After the fabric panel is placed over the seat bottom, the holes are placed over the hooks to securely retain the fabric panel against the seat.
Thus, the Benmax '510 seat cover will likely remain in place with respect to the seat without sliding and wrinkling. However, it is very difficult to install the seat cover due to the tension required in the fabric panel during installation. In other words, the fabric panel must be tightly held by an installer during attachment to the hooks in order to provide a tight fit of the seat cover after installation.
Further attempts to improve the drawstring-type seat cover have been made. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,947 to Croshaw illustrates an updated drawstring-type seat cover. The '947 seat cover includes a backrest cover and a seat bottom cover for covering, respectively, the backrest and seat bottom portions of a seat. The backrest cover and seat bottom cover are joined along a common seam, and a center panel is attached to the seam and extends through a crease between the backrest and seat bottom portions of the seat. The backrest cover and seat bottom cover each include a separate drawstring. After cinching, each drawstring is threaded through eyelets in the center panel and attached to hooks on the seat cover to retain the seat cover against the seat.
However, the Croshaw '947 seat cover still does not totally secure the seat cover in position against the seat to prevent wrinkling and sliding. Rather, the seat cover is free to move with respect to the seat and is not directly fixed thereto. In addition, the use of a center panel as in Croshaw '947 is inapplicable to a seat cover that covers only a seat bottom or only a backrest.